Deepa's Kaleidoscope

A sky full of stars all over the place. A mess of unfinished thoughts, of chaos and order, randomness and direction, of conflict and clarity, mind and soul. A speck in the universe. And a whole universe within me.

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

I slump down in my seat after a long day that never seemed to end, rest my head on the cushioned backrest and let my tired eyelids droop for all of ten seconds. Then I hear laughter. Loud, boisterous laughter. And I instantly look up.

I see him through the bars. Gleaming, stainless steel horizontal ones that seem to slice through his face. The setting sun casts shadows that dance along his shirt. I see the sparkle in his eyes, an obvious joyous excitement in them. He’s in the midst of an animated conversation, I can sense by the grin on his face. I cannot see the boy he’s talking to, he has his back turned towards me. But I can still hear him laugh.

As I look on, he throws his head back, does a flick of his mane and winks at his friend. They break into peals of laughter again and this time unwittingly, I smile. It is infectious. And then he signs. His hands move with amazing dexterity, the expressions on his face changing with every action of his. I watch mesmerised as the friend replies with signs of his own. And suddenly the world around me fades away as I get drawn into their conversation. A perfectly normal teenage conversation playing out before me – with all the typical ingredients – friends, laughter, ribbing, recollection and some more laughter. I don’t understand most of it, there are no words and yet I hear the music.

Then his eyes meet mine through the bars and suddenly I feel like an intruder. My cheeks burn red as I struggle to look away, my smile still pasted on my face. A deer caught in the headlights. He nudges his friend and he turns to look at me too. I wonder if they will yell at me, knowing but not realising at that very minute that they unfortunately cannot do that, even if they would have wanted to. In that moment, I worry about getting chastised by two kids less than half my age; I would realize later how baseless the thought was.

And then he sends a smile my way. A heart warming one. His friend looks at me and actions a bigger grin. And I cannot help but smile back. They flick me a mock salute and wave a goodbye, grinning at me as I alight. I wave back, still smiling, feeling as if I have just been part of an inside joke between friends, one that takes away the fatigue of the day.

I walk home lost in thought, still a little in awe. I might have a hundred different problems, 99% of them imaginary, but then these are the light moments that remind me, no – humble me, and drive home the point – no matter what, life’s still alright.

Saturday, April 30, 2016

Every year, in April, the Blogging A-Z Challenge kicks off with a bang and now in its seventh year running, it continues to garner even more participation than ever! Click here to read more on the challenge! And if you're participating too, do leave your blog site in the comments! I'd love to visit!

As A-Z winds to a close, if I think back and reflect, I have to say what an amazing month this was!
From the challenging timeline itself to trying out different styles, I have thoroughly enjoyed the journey!
Here's a listing of everything that came out during this period!

Every year, in April, the Blogging A-Z Challenge kicks off with a bang and now in its seventh year running, it continues to garner even more participation than ever! Click here to read more on the challenge! And if you're participating too, do leave your blog site in the comments! I'd love to visit!

Sadly, this post also marks the end of the 2016 A-Z Blogging Challenge. I have enjoyed the entire journey and hopeflully you enjoyed reading the posts as much as I loved to write them!

Two years laterThursday, 12-Apr-2018 (In Person)
“Please, Tanya. I’ll be gone for only a week this time, I promise.”
“I don’t know, Imran. This feels like deja vu. You got a second chance back then because of your excellent workmanship. But that’s all I can afford. There will be no third chances.”
“Monday it is.”

Wednesday, 25-Apr-2018 (Via Telecon)
“I remember your case. Tanya had finally relented to take you back on the project. What is it this time?”
“My brother’s wedding, Sir”(Pause)

“Didn’t you say you had only one brother?”
“Yes Sir. Only one brother.”
“Didn’t he already get married in Yemen?”
“Yes Sir. That was Yemen. This is Zimbabwe.”(Pause)

“Polygamy is legal in Zimbabwe, Sir.” (Long Pause)

“Would you like to collect your termination letter personally or would you like me to fax it over to your brother’s address in Zimbabwe?”

Click here to access the complete works of the 2016 A-Z Blogging Challenge!

Every year, in April, the Blogging A-Z Challenge kicks off with a bang and now in its seventh year running, it continues to garner even more participation than ever! Click here to read more on the challenge! And if you're participating too, do leave your blog site in the comments! I'd love to visit!

Thursday, 21-Apr-2016
“I’ll need a day more, Tanya. I should be back on Monday.”
“You’re already a week late, Imran. Just one more day. I’ll expect to see you on Monday.”

Monday, 25-Apr-2016
“There’s just the last bit left to wrap up. Tomorrow for sure.”
“You were going to join today, Imran. You better report to work tomorrow.”

Wednesday, 27-Apr-2016
“If you’re not here by Friday, Imran, I’m going to have to talk to HR.”
“Please don't do that Tanya. The festivities were so drawn out, I kept getting pulled into everything and I’m from the family, Tanya. I had to help. I’m so sorry. I’ll join tomorrow for sure and I’ll make up for the delay.”

Friday, 29-Apr-2016
“No Sir. I feel so horrid. I never knew it would stretch out so far. It was just supposed to be a wedding. A quick week off. But then this is Yemen. The wedding feast has been going on for the past nineteen days and it’s my brother’s wedding, I really couldn’t get away. Please do consider this as a genuine personal problem, Sir.”

Friday, April 29, 2016

Every year, in April, the Blogging A-Z Challenge kicks off with a bang and now in its seventh year running, it continues to garner even more participation than ever! Click here to read more on the challenge! And if you're participating too, do leave your blog site in the comments! I'd love to visit!

“You’ve ordered this dish at your own risk. Please do not complain that it is too hot or spicy. We will only join your friends and laugh at you some more. Bon Apetit!” says the note accompanying the dish. Whoa! That sure trumps up the dare quota a bit.

Habanero Hell Peppers. The name of the dish does sound a little intimidating but then how spicy can it be for an Indian, right? And with that thought, I give AJ a thumbs up and we go for it!

We gingerly pick up one each of the two deep fried balls and chew off a bite slowly. AJ rolls his eyes at me and shrugs. Boy, are they underestimating us or what! And so, we proceed with the rest of it.

Thirty-six seconds later, I’m on fire. Unbelievable, unquenchable, fire. Like my heart would pop out of my mouth. Like I’m drowning and cannot come up for air. Gasping, wheezing. It takes us three dollops of cream cheese each, two glasses of water and some ice cubes to finally put it out. Underneath the cream cheese, we find a parting note.

“The world’s hottest chili. With love. From meXico.”

The above story is an exception to the A-Z 2016 series since no characters or events depicted in this post were fictional.

Click here to access the complete works of the 2016 A-Z Blogging Challenge!Note: Since there aren’t any countries that start with X, meXico was kind enough to step in. Native to Mexico, Habanero peppers are rated as the hottest peppers all over the world.Link source here. Also, this Youtube video would probably give you an idea of what we went through!

Laid-back. Enthusiastic. Confused. Determined. A believer. A dreamer. Traditional. Modern. Someone who's still discovering herself while she's discovering the world around her. I am all of the above rolled into one. All that and much more. I am. I just am.